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Cooper meets de Quincy
and interviews the sister of Robert Burns.

From The International Monthly Magazine, of Literature, Science and Art.
Vol. IV, 1851.

THOMAS COOPER, author of the Purgatory of Suicides, &c., has been on a lecturing tour through Ireland and Scotland, lately, and has given an account of what he observed, in several letters to the London Leader.  We copy from them a few paragraphs:

    I had two hours delightful conversation with Mr. de Quincy, at Lasswade, and was as deeply impressed with his intellectual power in talking, as I was with his writing when, in my boyhood, I read his “Confessions of an English Opium Eater.”

    On my return from visiting Kirk Alloway, and the cottage of Burns, I called on his remaining sister, Mrs. Begg, a highly intelligent woman of eighty, who gave me some information of an important character, as I deem it to be.  Her daughter, Isabella, was present while I had the short conversation with her.  I told her that I entertained strong doubts of the truth of many things which were said about her illustrious brother, and I  wished to have the benefit of her own personal knowledge respecting him.  She replied that she would have pleasure in giving me all the information in her power.  I told her that a person in Glasgow had declared to me, the other day, that he believed all the accounts of her brother’s irregular life; for a friend of his had called on Mrs. Begg lately, and she had said that she had often seen her brother sit at the table in a morning, after a night’s debauch, shading his face with his hand, while the big tears of remorse were dropping on the board before him.  Mrs. Begg seemed moved painfully.  “Nothing is more false,” she replied; “I never had such a conversation; and never could say so, for I never saw my brother either drunk or showing any such feeling; nor did I ever know him to be drunk.  It is true, I saw but little of him in the latter part of his life; but his son, who was with him almost constantly, told me that he never saw his father the worse for liquor but once; and thou he was sick, but yet perfectly conscious.  His son also said, that though his father would come home late during the latter part of his life, when they lived in Dumfmies; yet he was always able to examine bolts and bars, went to observe that the children were right in bed, and always acted like a sober man.  Besides,” added the intelligent old lady, “how was it possible that my brother could be a drunkard, when he had so small an income, and yet, a few weeks before his death, owed nobody a shilling?  That speaks for itself.”  Mrs. Begg furthermore confirmed what I also learned in Glasgow from persons conversant with those who had known every circumstance of the close of Burns’s life, that Allan Cunningham has sorely misstated many matters.  Burns did not die in the dramatic style which Allan tells of.  Allan was never in Ayrshire in his life; but had his materials from some old fellow who went about poking into every corner and raking out every false story about Burns.  A writer in Glasgow, in whose company I sat for a short time in the evening after I had delivered my oration there on Burns, contradicted Allan Cunningham’s account of Burns’s death, from personal knowledge—just at the time when Allan’s Life of Burns appeared; but Allan never took any notice of the pamphlet, and never corrected the misstatement.  Mrs. Begg said that she had seen the two volumes of the new life of her brother, by Robert Chambers, and the account was fairer than any she had seen before.

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Manchester Guardian
19 Jan, 1856.

MR. THOMAS COOPER, author of "The Purgatory of Suicides," and other works, will LECTURE at the Athenæum on Wednesday evening, January 23, on the "Life and Genius of Milton," with Recitations from "Paradise Lost," &c.; and on Thursday evening, January 24, on the "Life and Genius of Burns," with Recitation of "Tam O'Shanter," &c. ― Admission: Reserved seats, 2s. 6d.: back seats, 1s. each; members, 1s. 6d. and 6d. each.  To commence at 7-30p.m. ― Tickets to be had at Wheeler's newspapers office, Arcade; of Mr. Burge, bookseller, Princess-street; and of Mr. Casper, tailor and draper, 83, Market-street: members tickets at the Athenæum only.

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From

'Thomas Carlyle'
Harpers New Monthly Magazine
Volume LXII. (p. 902)
New York, 1881

Thomas Cooper, author of the “Purgatory of Suicides” (dedicated to Carlyle), like so many others who had suffered for their efforts for reform, was befriended by Carlyle.   “Twice,” says Cooper, “he put a five-pound note in my hand when I was in difficulties, and told me, with a grave look of humour, that if I could never pay him again he would not hang me.”  Carlyle gave Cooper more than money—a copy of Past and Present, and therewith some excellent advice.  The letter is fine, and my reader will be glad to read it.

“CHELSEA, September 1, 1845.

“DEAR SIR,—I have received your poem, and will thank you for that kind gift, and for all the friendly sentiments you entertain toward me — which, as from an evidently sincere man, whatever we may think of them otherwise, are surely valuable to a man.  I have looked into your poem, and find indisputable traces of genius in it — a dark Titanic energy struggling there, for which we hope there will be a clearer daylight by-and-by.  If I might presume to advise, I think I would recommend you to try your next work in Prose, and as a thing turning altogether on Facts, not Fictions.  Certainly the music that is very traceable here might serve to irradiate into harmony far profitabler things than what are commonly called ‘Poems,’ for which, at any rate, the taste in these days seems to be irrevocably in abeyance.  We have too horrible a practical chaos round us, out of which every man is called by the birth of him to make a bit of Cosmos: that seems to me the real Poem for a man — especially at present.  I always grudge to see any portion of a man’s musical talent (which is the real intellect, the real vitality or life of him) expended on making mere words rhyme.  These things I say to all my poetic friends, for I am in earnest about them, but get almost nobody to believe me hitherto.  From you I shall get an excuse at any rate, the purpose of my so speaking being a friendly one toward you.

“I will request you farther to accept this book of mine, and to appropriate what you can of it.  ‘Life is a serious thing,’ as Schilier says, and as you yourself practically know.  These are the words of a serious man about it; they will not altogether be without meaning for you."

    Those who have read the “Purgatory of Suicides” will be able to understand the extent to which Carlyle was influenced by his sympathies.  A man who, like Cooper, had been in jail for Chartist opinions, might be pretty sure in those days of getting a certificate for some “traces of genius” from Carlyle.

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From:

LEAFLETS FROM MY LIFE: A NARRATIVE AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1888)

by

MARY KIRBY.

Chapter XIX. - Thomas Cooper and the Chartist Riot.

FOR many a long year, I may say for centuries past, the staple trade of Leicester has been the manufacture of hosiery in all its branches.

    My father had served an apprenticeship, as we have said, in Mr. Pares' warehouse in the Newark; and in after life, carried on a prosperous business of his own.

    He had built a warehouse, as we may remember, in the Millstone Lane, and his factory for wool spinning, was in the Redcross street.

    New machinery was constantly being introduced; and one day at dinner, he told us that he would take us down to the factory, to see a carding machine, which would supercede the wool being combed by hand.

    In these modern days, when the four quarters of the globe are brought within such easy distance of each other, wool is imported from every part of the world; but when we were young, it was not so, and the fleeces, that lay under a shed in the factory yard, were probably of home growth.  Be that as it may, we stayed and watched the wool going through a number of processes, preparatory to its being spun.  The steam-engine, at work somewhere out of sight, was certainly not out of mind, and wheels kept whizzing, and straps kept flying over our heads, in all directions, and we could not help wondering how day after day, and year after year, women and girls, could go on working in such a clatter of noise.

    Fine threads of worsted kept coming out of the mouths of the frames, in a misty cloud, that looked almost like smoke; and the young people went along the room from one frame to another, and pushed it down into the baskets, set on purpose to catch it, for it was too light to fall of itself.

    When the wool was thus spun into fine yarn, it was carried away to another building full of stocking frames, where it was woven as required, and according to orders.

    In olden times, before there were any frames to be had, the inhabitants of Leicester, used to knit stockings by hand, in large quantities; and a pretty story is told, of how it came to pass, that their handy-work ceased to be wanted.

    A curate, the Rev. William Lee, from the country, was paying his addresses to a young lady, who lived in Leicester; and whenever he came to see her, it troubled him to find her always knitting, for he fancied she took more interest in her work, than in what he had to say to her.  So he devised a plan to stop the everlasting play of those knitting pins; and with a great deal of thought and trouble, invented a machine, that could make a pair of stockings in much less time than she could.

    This ingenious invention was shown to Queen Elizabeth, who was asked to patronize it.  But the Queen was not very warm in the cause, and said it would be a bad thing to take the knitting out of the hands of the poor people; but added, if Mr. Lee could make her a pair of silk stockings she might have something to say to him, and grant him a patent.

    The silk stockings were duly sent.  But alas for the hard-hearted Queen! she disappointed the hopes and expectations of Mr. Lee; and like most inventors, he died of a broken heart; while another man, obtained the patent for his discovery and carried off the fortune.

    Those who live in a manufacturing town only know, the uncertainty of the working classes; and the readiness with which, on the slightest pretext, they throw themselves out of work, without any notice whatever.  It is in fact, the vexed question of capital and labour, that is always in danger of cropping up.

    And so it happened in Leicester about this time, the year, I believe 1842, that the stocking makers demanded an advance of wages, which the masters refused to give.  Murmurings and threats followed, and by and bye a strike was the result.

    The consequences as they always are, were disastrous; innocent women and children were left without bread to eat, while the men went about in groups from door to door, ostensibly begging, but in reality demanding money or food.

    Satan can always find some mischief for idle hands to do, — and when a number of men are out of work, they fly to politics, and to the abuse of their betters, their rulers, and particularly those who are better off than themselves.

    On the present occasion, the mob were Chartists; and at their head was the well-known Thomas Cooper, who possessed talents and powers of mind, far beyond the rest, which made him the more dangerous, for he was able to sway the men whichever way he pleased.

    Sunday afternoon was the most convenient time for them to hold their meetings; and the Market Place they found best suited for the purpose.  So there, a great crowd of the unemployed used to collect, and with plenty of hooting and shouting (which we could hear as we sat at home), listened to addresses from their leaders, which were calculated to urge them on to acts of violence; and when the speeches were over, the men would come tramping down the Friar Lane, half-a-dozen or more abreast, and make a great noise, that was intended for singing.  The song was all about the Charter, and had a refrain of —

    We knew very well what the Charter meant — universal suffrage, admission into Parliament of poor men without any property qualification whatever, and a few more such comfortable doctrines.

    As it happened, one of our maids called "Mercy," was a relative of Thomas Cooper's, and we noticed how very quick she was in closing the shutters, as soon as ever she heard the least noise or commotion.  We hoped this girl would be a protection to us, and such might have been the case, as we certainly were not molested.

    The excited feelings of the mob were brought to a crisis, by the fact of a contested election, just then coming on.

    On the day of nomination, and while the members were on the hustings, and speeches were being made, a practical joke was played off upon Cooper.

    A large tin extinguisher, made for the purpose, and fastened at the end of a long pole, was dropped adroitly over him, and completely covered him, — or as his opponents said, "put him out."  Cooper, however, took the jest in good part, and almost immediately started a Chartist paper, calling it the "Extinguisher."

    The next thing that followed, was a riot, dignified by the name of the Bastile Riot, because the workhouse was attacked, and all its windows broken.  Sticks and stones flew freely about, and the police were no match for the mob.

    The whole town was in a state of confusion, and the streets so crowded, that when at last a few of the ringleaders were arrested, it was difficult to get them along.

    Cooper pushed himself into the justice room, and undertook to defend the prisoners himself; but the magistrates refused to hear him, on the ground of his not being a qualified lawyer.

    Nobody knows what more mischief might have been done, had not a troop of horse, fortunately arrived from Nottingham, in time to prevent it.  They drove the mob before them, and the worst of the rioters were safely lodged in gaol, and all anxiety speedily brought to an end.

    We were very glad to hear some few years later, that Thomas Cooper had changed his course of life, and was putting his talents to a good purpose.  After lying in prison and suffering great privations from insufficient food, and a miserable bed, — he rose above it all, and having educated himself in the most heroic manner, he earned a comfortable livelihood, by giving lectures on history and philosophy as well as on theology.

    The story he has given us of his adventures in his "Autobiography" is both romantic and interesting; and in the little work he has more recently published, called "Thoughts at Fourscore," we see plainly how altered are his views, and his ideas of life.

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THE TIMES
 Saturday, July 16, 1892.

OBITUARY.
_______

THOMAS COOPER.

    Mr. Thomas Cooper, the well-known Chartist leader Christian lecturer, died at Lincoln yesterday afternoon, in the 88th year of his age.  On Thursday he was seized with a slight attack of illness, which in his enfeebled state left him entirely prostrate, and he passed peacefully away.  The career of this well known Chartist leader and religious and political controversialist furnishes another example of the triumphs which may be achieved by indomitable resolution and perseverance in the humblest spheres.  By his father's side, Thomas Cooper was descended from Yorkshire Quakers.  He was born as Leicester in March, 1805.  Before he was 12 months old, his father, who was a travelling dyer, removed his family to Exeter.  It is said that young Cooper learned to read almost without instruction, and that at the age of three he was set to teach a youth of seven his letters.  Mrs. Cooper, being left a widow when her son was only four years old, quitted Exeter for her native Lincolnshire, and settled down at Gainsborough, where the next 25 years of Thomas Cooper's life were passed.  One of the first friends he made was Thomas Miller, the poet, who was learning the trade of basket-making when the youths became acquainted.  In 1813 Cooper was sent to the Bluecoat School.  From 1816 to 1820 he was at a private school, where he greatly extended his reading in history, poetry, and other subjects.  Necessity compelled him to learn a craft for his livelihood, and at the age of 15 he was apprenticed to a shoemaker.  Whilst pursuing his trade he gave up every moment of spare time to his books, rising every morning at 3 or 4 o'clock in order to study.  By the time he was 23 he had taught himself the Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and French languages, together with mathematics and a knowledge of English history and literature.  His general reading was at the most, extensive and varied character, and by way of recreation the omnivorous student would commit such masterpieces as Hamlet to memory.  But circumstances at this time were very adverse for Cooper, and in describing the period long afterwards he said, "I not unfrequently swooned away and fell along the floor when I tried to take my cup of oatmeal gruel at the end of the day's labour.  Next morning, of course, I was not able to rise at an early hour; and then the next day's study had to be stinted.  I needed better food than we could afford to buy, and often had to contend with the sense of faintness, while I still plodded on with my double task of mind and body."  A serious illness ensued, during which he was once given up for dead.

    In 1828 Cooper abandoned his trade of shoemaking had opened a school, to which the children of poor parents flocked eagerly.  A year later, after mental struggles and much spiritual wrestling, he joined the Wesleyan Methodist body and became local preacher.  In 1834 her married the sister of a revivalist preacher in Lincoln and established a school in that city.  Here he had much to do with the foundation and prosperity of the Lincoln Mechanics' Institute and the Lincoln Choral Society.  He also acted as correspondent for the Lincoln, Rutland, and Stamford Mercury.  It was at this time that he conceived the idea of his ambitions poem on "The Purgatory of Suicides."  Cooper was a strong Radical in politics, and he wrote warmly in support of Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer, who was then in great favour with the Liberal electors of Lincoln.  After a brief residence at Stamford, whither he moved upon leaving Lincoln, Cooper went to London in 1839, where he passed through many vicissitudes in endeavouring to launch himself upon a journalistic and literary career.  For a brief period he resided at Greenwich, where he edited the Kentish Mercury.  In 1840 he moved to Leicester, his birthplace, became associated with the Leicestershire Mercury, joined the Chartists, and conducted the Chartist organ, the Midland Counties Illuminator.  Cooper soon became recognized as the leader of the Chartists, and was nominated as a Parliamentary candidate both for the the town and county, but was not returned.  Among the converts to Chartist views, whom Cooper made by his eloquent appeals, was a youth of 15, named Anthony John Mundella, whose later career is sufficiently well known.

    Cooper lived to see that Chartism was but the fly on the wheel during this great period of political agitation.  Free trade became the one overwhelming cry of the nation, though there were many sanguine spirits who thought that an enlargement of the franchise, with the accompanying political demands embodied in the People's Charter, would take precedence of Corn Law Repeal.  Cooper was one of these, and clung enthusiastically to the case when others wavered or altogether abandoned it.  Being elected delegate from Leicester to the Chartist Convention at Manchester in August, 1842, be went thither by way of the Staffordshire Potteries.  He addressed a number of large gatherings of working mean, and on August 15 took the chair at a great meeting held on the Crown Bank at Hanley.  The fiat had already gone forth in various parts of the country that all labour should cease until the people's Charter became the law of the land, and in some places riots had occurred.  The Hanley meeting passed off peaceably, and Cooper, personally, strongly appealed for the observance of law and order.  But a riot had taken place at Longton, and the noisy spirits of Hanley endeavoured to promote a riot there also.  Cooper, who was widely known, was advised by his friends to leave the town, and he did so.  But he had scarcely got away when the spirit of turbulence triumphed, and Hanley was the scene of riot and excess.  At Burslem Cooper was arrested, and was released for lack of evidence.  On reaching Manchester the city appeared to be almost in a state of siege.  All the manufactories were closed, and cavalry and artillery were parading the streets.  The convention was held on the 17th, and Cooper and other chartists recommended armed resistance to the law.  An address was afterwards printed and sent out for distribution by the executive.  The police arrested some of the leaders, but Cooper got away to Leicester.  Here several out-door demonstrations were held, but they were dispersed by the county police.  Cooper was arrested on a warrant held by the constable of Hanley, and conveyed back to the Potteries.  He was committed to Stafford Goal on the charge of aiding in the riot at Hanley, and while awaiting his trial he composed several of the simple tales which will be found in "Wise Saws and Modern Instances," published in 1845.  The assizes began on October 11, 1852, began Lord Chief Justice Tindal.  Cooper was charged with the crime of arson, but as it was conclusively shown that he was in Burslem and not in Hanley at all at the time when the offence was committed, the jury returned a verdict of "Not Guilty."  Two days later he was again arraigned, this time on the charges of conspiracy and sedition.  The trial was postponed, however, and after five weeks Cooper was liberated.  On arriving at Leicester he was made the hero of demonstrations throughout, the town.

    Divisions now assailed the Chartist party.  The cause was practically ruined by the time when Cooper's second trial came on at the Stafford Assizes, March 20, 1843.  Sir Thomas Erskine was the Judge, and the chief counsel against the prisoner was the scholarly Sergeant Talfourd, M.P.  Cooper conducted his own defence, and delivered a powerful speech.  But there were certain stubborn facts in the way of an acquittal, and the prisoner was found guilty of conspiracy and sedition, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment in Stafford Goal.  While in prison Cooper began the composition of "The Purgatory of Suicides," an epic poem in ten books, written in the Spencerian stanza.  This "Mind History," as the author described it, dealt with great social and religions questions of the past and present, making the spirits of suicides the actors or speakers.

    Now, for some time, Cooper had been gravitating towards atheistical opinions.  He had been treated by his Methodist friends in a manner which did not seem to him to savour of Christianity; his wife was ill and bed-ridden; and his own imprisonment reacted upon his sensitive nature.  After his release from goal in 1845 he studied the translation of Strauss begun by Charles Hennell and finished by George Eliot.  He became, as he himself said, "fast bound in the net of Strauss," nor was he thoroughly able to break its meshes for 12 years.  Cooper applied to Tom Ducombe, the eccentric member for Finsbury, to find him a publisher for his poem, and Duncombe gave him this characteristic note to Mr. Disraeli:—

    "My dear Disraeli,— I send you Mr. Cooper, a Chartist, red hot from Stafford Goal. But don't be frightened. He won't bite you. He has written a poem and a romance; and thinks he can cut out a 'Coningsby' and 'Sybil'! Help him if you can, and oblige yours, T. S. DUNCOMBE."

    Disraeli received Cooper very kindly and gave him notes to Moxon and Colburn, but these and other publishers would do nothing; "poetry was an absolute drug in the market.''  Douglas Jerrold and Charles Dickens subsequently read "The Purgatory of Suicides," of which they formed a high opinion, and Jerrold secured a publisher for it.  The work appeared in 1845, and the first edition of 500 copies was sold off before Christmas.  It was succeeded by another poem, "The Baron's Yule Feast," dedicated to the Countess of Blessington.  Carlyle wrote to the author concerning his "Purgatory of Suicides":—"I have looked into your poem, and find indisputable traces of genius in it—a dark, Titanic energy struggling there, for which we hope there will be clearer daylight by and by."  Carlyle not only helped Cooper with advice, but by substantial acts of kindness.  In 1846, while in the Lake District, Cooper had an interview with the venerable poet Wordsworth, who engaged him in a long conversation upon poets and poetry, and the events of the day.  When they parted, Wordsworth said with emphasis, "The people are sure to have the franchise as knowledge increases; but you will not get all you seek at once, and you must never seek it again by physical force; it will only make you the longer about it."

    In 1847 Cooper published his "Triumphs of Perseverance" and "Triumphs of Enterprise."  In the same year he joined Mazinni's new society, "The People's International League," which held its London meetings at the residence at the residence of the secretary, W. J. Linton, the engraver, in Hatton-garden.  From the Chartist meetings and disturbances of 1848, however, he kept entirely aloof; and he was in complete disagreement with Feargus O'Connor over his land scheme.  Cooper now became an active political and historical lecturer in London and in all parts of Great Britain and Ireland.  His first novel, "Alderman Ralph," was published in 1853, and another following in the succeeding year.  Towards the close of 1855 Cooper's opinions on religious questions underwent a change.  He had never lectured as an infidel, but he had certainly given utterances of sceptical opinions.  He now renounced these opinions, declared himself to be firmly convinced of the existence of a Divine Moral Governor, of the universe, and for many years lectured upon the Evidences of Christianity.  In September, 1856, he began a course of Sunday evening lectures and discussions with the London sceptics, and continued them until the end of May, 1858. In the latter year Mr. Cowper-Temple found him employment in the Department of the Board of Health, where, in addition to routine work, he assisted Dr. Simon, of the Privy Council Office, in the preparation of his valuable report on vaccination.  In 1859, having become thoroughly settled in his religious convictions, Cooper joined the general Baptist body, and from time to time preached under the auspices of that organization.  Shortly before taking that step he had held several public discussions with George Jacob Holyoake, but long afterwards he expressed his clear conviction that public discussions on the evidences of Christianity never do any good and often do great harm.  At length his health broke down, and Mr. W. E. Forster, Mr. Samuel Morely, Dr. Jobson, and other friends initiated a subscription for him in his illness and his need.  Eventually a sum of £1300 was raised, which was used in the purchase of an annuity of £100 in the National Debt Office, for himself and his wife.

    From 1867 to 1872 Cooper was again employed in lecturing.  In 1878 his "Political Works" were collected and published, and shortly afterwards appeared "The Bridge of History over the Gulf of Time."  In 1882 he published his Autobiography, and since that period has lived in retirement.  During the course of his long career Cooper was thrown into contact with many of the most distinguished men of his time in literature and politics.  His character was strongly marked, and it was impossible not to be struck by his honesty, his manliness, and his independence.  His opinions on many questions were extreme, but his sincerity was undoubted.

    In 1886, when the Home Rule Bill was introduced, Cooper said in a letter to the secretary of the Liberal Unionist Society in Lincoln:—"I shall not vote at the city election because I agree with neither of the candidates.  The Tory candidate knows perfectly well that the old Chartist prisoner cannot vote for him.  I cannot vote for the Liberal candidate because, so far as my perception reaches, it would be voting in the dark.  The Irish people share the common privileges of English, Scotch and Welsh men.  What is it that they want besides?  I ask the question because they never tell us what they really want.  Home Rule is a vague answer, for it may have 20 meanings, and none of them be good.  Lately Mr. Gladstone has invented a new phrase—he proposes to give Ireland a 'statutory Parliament.'  But what is that, and wherein does it differ from our Parliament?  Why do the Irish want a separate Parliament?  It would only help make us more and more divided instead of a United Kingdom.  I must declare, whatever offence it may give to some people, that the Irish cry of Home Rule means separation from England, and that would be ruin to Ireland herself and a costly war for England."

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The Times,
July 19th, 1892.

FUNERAL OF THOMAS COOPER.

The funeral of Thomas Cooper, the Chartist leader and poet, who died on Friday last, took place at Lincoln yesterday afternoon.  The first part of the funeral service was conducted in the Thomas Cooper Memorial Baptist Chapel, which was recently built and named in his honour.  The service was conducted by the Rev. Arthur O'Neill, of Birmingham, the Rev. E. H. Jackson of Louth, and the Rev. J. Bennett, of Lincoln.  After the service the Rev. Arthur O'Neill, a fellow Chartist prisoner, delivered an address.  He said it was as nearly as possible 50 years since Thomas Cooper and he stood together on a platform before 20,000 people at Wednesbury, and he could well remember Cooper's ringing voice, the intense enthusiasm which he felt, his deep sympathy and pity for the poor, his tremendous denunciation of wrong, and the fearless way he met oppressors.  He rejoiced that after 50 years nearly every point they advocated had been accomplished.  Mr. O'Neill went on to speak of the days he had spent in Stafford Goal in company with Cooper, and of a second occasion when he was in prison for a year with him.  He commended to young men Cooper's political and patriotic efforts as a worthy of imitation, and concluded by stating that, as far as he could discover, he was the last Chartist prisoner in England, although there were some in America.  The Rev. E. H. Jackson also delivered an address, and he was followed by the Rev. J. Bennett.  There were but few people at the ceremony, where the concluding portion of the burial service was read by the Rev. E. H. Jackson.

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SONGS

by

THOMAS COOPER.
 

"THE MINSTREL'S SONG" Words and melody by Thomas Cooper, arranged in four parts with piano accompaniment by Sophia Dobson Collet. (2 pages, .pdf, 400KB. To download, right click, and then 'save target as'.)

"THE WOODMAN'S SONG" Words and melody by Thomas Cooper, arranged in four parts with piano accompaniment by Sophia Dobson Collet. (2 pages, .pdf, 450KB. To download, right click, and then 'save target as'.)